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Brief Synopsis

A cowardly tenderfoot goes west to help the son of his father''''s best friend.

Though his brother has already been killed by Sam Hollis' gang of land rustlers, Wade Kingsley decides to stay and fight for the family cattle ranch. His wife Matilda, however, insists on returning to her hometown of New York, along with their infant son, Wade, Jr. Badly outnumbered, Kingsley and his faithful ranch foreman, Slim Mosely, manage to fight off the outlaws, but both are later murdered by Sam. Before they die, however, the two friends vow that their sons will someday avenge their deaths. Years later, Matilda has become a highly successful twentieth-century Eastern industrialist, though her son still dreams of returning to his roots on the range. One day, Carol, Matilda's niece, and Slim Mosely, Jr. appear at the Kingsley estate, having arrived in New York City to participate in a rodeo. The two tell Matilda that they plan to use Slim's rodeo winnings to purchase Cuddles, a prize bull, with whom they hope to rebuild the stock of the family ranch, which is once again under attack by rustlers. Wade appears at the rodeo, however, and his bumbling destroys Slim's chances for any prize money. Feeling guilty, Wade purchases Cuddles for the K ranch, then becomes trapped in the westward-bound train car with the bull. Despite Wade's generosity, Slim has little use for the city-slicker and insists that he leave the train at its first stop. After reading Wade's letter to his mother, in which the young man praises the cowboy, however, Slim has a change of heart and offers to become "pardners" with Wade. After arriving at the K Ranch, Slim gives Wade the alias of "Killer Jones," in order to protect the young tenderfoot from the local bandits. Despite his new name, Wade soon runs afoul of Pete Rio, one of Slim's ranchhands, who is secretly working for Dan Hollis, the local banker. A cowardly crook like his father, Dan is trying to drive the ranchers off their lands so that he can sell the entire valley to the federal government for use in a dam project. Wade makes a much better impression on a beautiful dance hall girl, Dolly Riley, when, with Slim's help, he rescues her from a runaway carriage. The townspeople mistake Wade's ineptitude on a horse for skill and bravery, and he is quickly elected sheriff of Carson Valley. Soon after, Wade gets into a fistfight with Rio, and manages to "win" despite being knocked unconscious, as once again Slim comes to his aid. Even with his newfound confidence, Wade fails miserably when leading a posse to the K Ranch, where a masked raiders attack is underway, going so far as to mistake Slim for one of the bandits. After the attack, Dan proposes to Carol, but when she turns him down, he tells her that he plans to foreclose on the K Ranch. Overhearing this, Wade goes to the bank to pay off the note, but Dan quickly arranges to have his own bank robbed in order to stop the payment. Seeing the bandits approaching, Wade knocks one unconscious, then assumes his identity. Upon returning to the outlaws' hideout, Wade's real identity is quickly discovered, and taking Wade's own suggestion, the bandits bind the young heir to a chair, along with two lit sticks of dynamite. Slim then attempts to rescue Wade, only to be knocked unconscious by Dan. The two narrowly escape the cabin, however, before the dynamite ignites. Thinking that his nemeses are dead, Dan holds a town meeting at the K Ranch, where he publicly denounces Slim and Wade as bandits. Meanwhile, Slim and Wade head back to town and capture the real bandit gang. Later, at the K Ranch, Dan and Rio get the drop on Slim, but this time Wade rescues the ranch foreman, shooting Dan and knocking out Rio. As the new sheriff, Wade then orders Dan and his gang sent to "the hoosegow." With law and order restored to Carson Valley, the two "pardners" prepare to settle down to peaceful homes on the range.